


Tea and Coffee

by TinyTyper



Series: Fantober 2020 [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Fantober, Fantober2020, Friendship, JJ is the mom friend, Spencer is very sweet, honey lemon tea, tea and coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26680606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyTyper/pseuds/TinyTyper
Summary: Working late nights at the BAU on a case? Coffee can help with that
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Spencer Reid, Spencer/JJ (friendship)
Series: Fantober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940461
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Tea and Coffee

The first time JJ noticed that Reid liked to stay late at the BAU was when she walked into their little kitchen area and saw him staring into the coffee brewer, waiting for it to heat up enough to pour. She had just finished a load of paperwork and was going to make some honey lemon tea for the drive home, but she stopped in the doorway crossing her arms over her chest.

“You okay there?” she asked tentatively.

Reid shook his head a little and looked up, her question snapping him out of his staring match with the coffee pot. 

“Oh, yeah, yeah I’m fine. Just thinking about something for the case”

JJ nodded and walked over next to him before reaching up to the cabinet and pulling out the small jar that she kept her tea in. 

“Isn’t it a little bit late for coffee? It’s almost nine” she noted. 

Reid just gave a gentle shrug, replying, “I have a hunch about something I want to look into so I’m going to stay for a few more hours, I just need something to help keep me focused” 

She raised her eyebrows but decided not to say anything as she went about pouring the hot water for her tea into her travel mug. The coffee was ready now too, but she noticed he only poured it about two thirds full before adding some creamer and about six spoonful’s of sugar. 

“That’s an interesting way to drink coffee” she mentioned, clasping the lid on her tea after dropping the teabag in. Reid looked up at her as he stirred. 

“I don’t really like the taste of coffee, I just wanted something to keep me awake. The one I have at home is better but last time I brought it in Garcia stole it all” 

She smiled at that and shook her head softly. “Maybe you should try tea. You can get different blends, some send you to sleep, others help to keep you awake,” she paused as she turned to head towards the door. “And they definitely taste better than coffee” she motioned to his cup. 

“Goodnight Spence. Try not to work too hard” she said, smiling gently as he waved his hand back, the other still stirring.

Once the elevator doors closed, she made a mental note to check on him then next day. Although he might have a good lead on something, working late always showed its effects in the morning.  
Over the next two months, JJ noticed Spencer staying late more often than not. She was usually one of the last ones to leave, except for the odd time when Hotch locked himself in his office having some late night meetings with people across the country – he often complained about time differences the next day if it went on especially late. 

Most of the time she would find him at his desk or near the coffee maker, sometimes asking to sit and talk over a theory with her and pick her brain about something increasingly more specific. The last night she saw him in the office late working on that case, she noticed he was deep into reading some files at his desk, barely looking up from them except to type something into his computer. 

She had considered quietly leaving but found herself instead standing in front of the coffee maker, waiting for it to brew. Once it was ready, she poured it two thirds of the way, adding creamer and four sugars and began to stir. Discarding the spoon in the sink, she made her way back through to the pit and gently came up to his desk. 

She placed a hand on his shoulder softly so as not to scare him and when he turned and saw the coffee mug he smiled, putting down the files and taking it with both hands. 

“Thanks, JJ” 

“You looked like you needed it. Another late night?” 

Spencer sat his mug on his desk and looked down at his files with a sigh. “I know I’m close to figuring out this last piece, I can feel it…” he trailed off, grabbing his pen and writing a few notes on a post it. JJ leaned against his desk, folding her arms and looking down at the mess of notes and writings that had been piling up over the past few weeks. 

“You know they say a tidy workspace makes a tidy mind” she remarked, flicking a scrunched-up post it note into his line of view. Spence tilted his head to look at it before leaning back again slightly and taking in his disk. 

“You might have a point...” 

JJ smiled softly and pushed herself off of where she was leaning. “Take a break at least, drink your coffee and then come back to it. You never know, doing something else might help your subconscious to thread things together” she shrugged. She patted him softly on the shoulder before making her way over to her own desk, picking up her coat from the back of her chair. 

On her way out, she spared a glance over to him and saw him picking at the scraps on his desk, flinging a few in the garbage and periodically taking sips from his mug. She shook her head and smiled to herself, making her way out to her car in the cool autumn air, wishing she had thought to make herself some tea. 

The next morning had brought in some welcome relief for the whole team. Spencer had managed to find the last link between the victim and unsub that lead them straight to him, and by mid-afternoon they had officially closed the case. JJ took a moment to look around, pleased to see the team smiling. Morgan and Garcia were standing over by Reid’s desk and the three of them were deep into an amusing conversation if the grins on their faces was anything to go by. 

In the evening, JJ was pleased to see Reid beginning to pack up at five with the rest of them. They still had some paperwork to fill in but Hotch had told them they deserved the night off; it was something they could finish tomorrow. As she was logging off her computer, she noticed someone come to stand next to her, and was happy when she saw Spencer smiling shyly. 

“Hey, everything okay?” she asked, noticing that he was holding a small box with a bow in one of his hands. 

“Oh, yeah, I just wanted to say thank you” 

She realised she must have given him a confusing look, because he quickly sprang into an explanation. 

“Just for helping me survive the late nights and bringing me coffee. Actually, your advice really worked out. When I was cleaning my desk last night, I found some papers hidden under everything else that really put me on the right track” he nodded. 

He placed the small box on her desk and she realised it had a little bow on the side. 

“I got you something, too” 

“You didn’t have to you know, all I did was tell you to clean your desk” she countered, but he just smiled as she reached for it. 

It only took her a moment to open it, and upon closer inspection, she realised it was a box full of aromatic tea blends, all individually wrapped with descriptions of what was inside each one; Lavender and Camomile, Ginseng and Lime, a few different chai blends and more. 

“There’s a lot in there but I got extra honey and lemon, I know it’s your favourite” he explained. 

JJ couldn’t stop grinning as she looked back up to him. 

“Thank you, this is great Spence” 

She placed the box down on her desk and stood, pulling him into a quick hug. When she pulled back, she kept her hands on his shoulders. 

“Promise me you won’t go home and stay up late drinking coffee?”

He grinned back at her. 

“Not tonight, I think I’ve earned some proper sleep”

“I’d say so” 

With that, they said their goodnights to each other and she watched as he headed out of the bullpen and towards the elevator. She took a moment to sit back down and leaf through her new box of teas, looking forward to trying them all. 

“Okay peach blend,” she said, picking out a light pink coloured satchel. “You’re up first”

**Author's Note:**

> I love Spencer and JJ as bff's and I think this is the kind of thing they would do for each other all the time. I also love friendship building in fics and I really don't think you see it often enough unless it's based in something else, like some major plotline. 
> 
> Also I have no idea how to write some of the big brain murder stuff so that's why there's no details about the case itself. And honestly, it's not important if we're just talking about the friendship between them. Anyway JJ is best mom friend and you cant prove me wrong. 
> 
> This is day/fic 2 of the #Fantober2020 series! Please check out the official Fantober account on twitter at [Fantober2020](https://twitter.com/fantober2020)


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